


Legacy

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda - Freeform, N7 Day, Post-Mass Effect 3, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 16:11:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8496706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: A very familiar voice delivering a powerful message rouses Shepard from sleep and leads to a conversation that raises more questions than answers.





	

_“We will say goodbye and you will look back one last time.”_

Normally it was aches and pains, perhaps an unfortunate nightmare that roused Commander Shepard from her sleep these days. As heavy lids began to flutter and lift, however, she realized that, all things considered, she felt fairly well. The lack of panic and cold sweats indicated that she hadn’t had a nightmare, either. She blinked, trying to assess what was going on and why she found herself awake in what appeared to be the middle of the night.

_“And know that wherever you go, we will be with you.”_

Her brow furrowed with confusion as her arm drifted instinctively off to one side, only to be met by the sensation of an empty space where a certain someone was supposed to be. Slowly and carefully, she pushed herself upwards and into a sitting position to better understand why she was hearing her own voice. She swallowed hard as she blearily considered the possibilities. If it was another clone, there was going to be hell to pay.

_“This is Commander Shepard, signing off.”_

“Kaidan?”

His back was to her and he was hunched over his omni-tool at the side of the bed. He straightened at the sound of his name and turned with an apologetic expression sweeping across his features. He tapped his omni-tool one last time and reached out, curling his fingers around hers. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“If you wanted to hear my voice, I’m right here,” she answered, a smile creeping across her lips. There was a certain familiarity about the message he’d been listening to, but she couldn’t quite recall why she’d produced it. “When did you record that?”

Kaidan leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before answering. “I woke up thinking about some people. Do you remember the Andromeda Initiative? I recorded this when you were asked to come up with something inspirational for them.”

“Plan B,” Shepard quickly responded. It was coming back to her now. She remembered the colorful nickname the Ark scheme had garnered among Alliance brass. It was another wacky, untested, unreliable idea that complimented the unlikelihood of the Crucible beautifully. Shepard, meanwhile, had apparently become the inspiration and figurehead of it all. Lucky her.

“Yeah, Plan B,” Kaidan quietly repeated. “I’ve gotta hand it to you. It’s one hell of a message.”

“I’m surprised you can’t hear my panic or anger. It was recorded on the way back to earth, almost landing at London, right?”

“It was,” he confirmed. He absently rubbed a hand up and down her arm as he clearly drifted through his memory. “That was a hard day.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Shepard playfully answered. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her terrors at bay. “I was there.”

“You know, I listened to this message until my omni-tool died after we fled the mass relays. It sort of broke my heart, but it also helped us all keep pushing to get back here, to find you, and to rebuild.” The expression on his face was distant and his brow furrowed at the many memories of that time flooding his mind.

Shepard reached over to cup a hand around his cheek. The only thing more baffling to her than how she’d managed to survive the entire ordeal with the reapers was how she’d managed to find a partner who was so strong, so devoted even after all the trauma they’d been through. That was amazing. “Well, I’m here now. I can repeat the speech in person if you’d like.”

A gentle smile tugged at his lips as he appreciatively covered her hand with his own and turned his head to plant a kiss on her palm. Even now, he could still make her stomach flutter. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I just sympathize with all those people heading out to Andromeda with the message. I get the real thing. Right next to me. All the time.”

Shepard smiled. “Yep. You’re stuck with me. We could always follow after them to Andromeda, you know.”

“No, that’s okay. I’d rather not. I’d prefer to spend my remaining years in peace, not a sleeper pod that may or may not make it to the next destination.”

“Good,” Shepard responded as she slowly curled herself into Kaidan’s side as sleep tugged at her once more. “I spent too damn much time and effort to save this galaxy to move on to another one now.

Kaidan wrapped his arms around her as they settled back into the bed. The rumbling chuckle she received in response made her smile. “Fair enough. Do you think they’ll make it? To Andromeda? It was such a far-fetched idea at the time and nothing like that had ever been attempted.”

“That we know of,” Shepard suggested, her words mumbled against his chest. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the reaper war, it’s that we don’t have any real idea of history. It’s all relative. Also, sometimes you have to take a gamble. It might just work. It’s just too bad that all those people won’t know that everything is finally okay here.”

“Better than okay,” Kaidan whispered as she snuggled against him. A great yawn accompanied another thought. “Well, maybe they’ll take over their new galaxy and use your voice as justification.”

“Wonderful,” Shepard sarcastically muttered, sleep washing over her at last.


End file.
